Waiting for CRCT results

The Georgia Department of Education won’t release official CRCT results for several more weeks, but some Georgia school districts are starting to share their preliminary scores.

The results are mixed.

Districts showing gains in reading say students continue to struggle in math. But systems where math scores have gone up are reporting that reading scores are mixed.

It’s too soon to know whether we’ll have a repeat of last year’s debacle.

In 2008, the state threw out CRCT social studies scores for students in sixth- and seventh-grade saying there was a disconnect between the standards, the test and what teachers taught. About 71 percent of sixth-graders and 76 percent of seventh-graders failed last year.

The state rewrote some of the standards, redid the test and gave teachers more training. The state field-tested the revamped exam for sixth- and seventh-graders this year, meaning students’ scores won’t count.

Math scores also tanked last year. About 38 percent of eighth-graders failed the math test, which was based on revamped curriculum.

State officials say the curriculum is more rigorous and test scores will improve as teachers become more comfortable with the material.

We’ll have to see if that happens this year.

Parents, how did your child do this year? Teachers and principals, how did your class and school do?